I did notice, similarly to other teachers asked to read the sentences about cricket, that I too became aggravated at the difficulty I was having understanding the text. Then as I read, "there is a national recognition in the common core standards that reading is about comprehension and thinking" my eyes were certainly opened to the necessity of reading that I have never realized. This necessity is the skill of constructing meaning from texts, according to the authors. Upon reading these things, I began to ask myself questions such as: "How in the world could I possibly create a learning environment that helped students to comprehend and think about the texts that they were reading?" Fortunately, the authors did provide some advice here at the beginning that calmed my worries. They suggested that teachers provide students with some background information before reading in hopes of triggering students' schemata as well as introducing students to thinking strategies that could aid them as they read. I feel like these steps are thankfully simple enough to duplicate, and yet, as far as I can see thus far, would have a major impact on students' ability to learn and retain information. After reading this text, I am excited to learn more about what it looks like to develop classrooms that help students comprehend and learn. (Word Count: 221)